OK! Exclusive: Rocco DiSpirito Talks His New Reality Show

Rocco DiSpirito, the king of foodie reality shows, is back with a new series! Starting in June, his show Now Eat This! Italy brings his latest cookbook to life. He traveled to kitchens all around Italy to cook alongside Italian mamas, than tweaked their recipes to make them way healthier.

The series is based on the web, and you can watch it on aol.com come June. We chatted with Rocco yesterday about the new show, his cooking tips, and how a fledgling chef (me!) can get started.

Take a look at the new show:

OK!: What is your favorite region in Italy, and what is it known for?

Rocco DiSpirito: My region, Campania. I have to go with my home region. It’s like asking what Chinatown is known for. They’re known for the most amazing foods that Italians have to offer: mozzarella, lemons, lamb, eggplant, tomatoes, to name a few.

OK!: What’s the easiest way to make a recipe healthier?

RD: The simplest trick is to just to cook it yourself. If I gave you all the recipes for your commercially-produced food, and I asked you to make what you were going to eat at the drive-through, you would throw away half the ingredients. You would never put this stuff in your food, because you would clearly recognize that it was toxic or poison or not good for you. So the biggest thing you can do is cook. Then get rid of sugars.

OK!: Do you watch any other cooking web series? I love the Drunk Chef!

RD: I do. There’s a show with two guys who make houses out of bacon, things like that. It’s fascinating. Cooking has become a spectator sport, like WWF.

OK!: I can’t cook anything. Where do I begin?

RD: So you’re the kind of person who burns salad? Trial and error. Chefs aren’t very smart. It’s a skill you can learn very quickly. Try something new every night. By the end of the week, you have 10 new things. You’ll cut your fingers a lot, in the beginning. Can you work a blender? Then make smoothies! If you can blend, that’s cooking. And then when you’re in love with someone, you’ll understand why people want to cook.

Are you trying to eat healthier these days? Have you ever tried any of Rocco's tips? Will you tune in to his new show? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @OKMagazine.